New Sparring Partner
by Sherinne
Summary: Sasuke was annoyed to find someone already occupying the training ground when he arrived, and he wasn't going to share. But there was something about the stranger that piqued his interest. Set one year after the Fourth Shinobi World War with a slight changes. Continued with request.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer : I do not own any of the characters below. I'm just a lowly fan.

Note : This is my first attempt in writing fanfic (or any story). So review would be very welcome. English is not my first language, and not my most excellent subject so you will definitely see many grammar or spelling errors. And I appreciate if you could tell me where exactly so that I can improve my writing.

XXX

Sasuke Uchiha woke up to the sound of chirping birds. Yawning and rubbing his eyes slightly, he turned his head towards the sole window in his room. He saw, rays of sunlight extended over the horizon which indicated it was just the beginning of dawn.

Groggily Sasuke rose from his bed to a sitting position. He then remembered he did not have a mission today, which means that he could continue his sleep. However Sasuke did not make a habit of returning back to sleep once he woke up. Thus he decided he could kill some time to do some training before going out for breakfast.

Not that he needed any more training. He was already acknowledged as one of the strongest shinobi in the world after his contribution in the Fourth Shinobi World War. As much as he hated to admit it, Naruto Uzumaki is the only one who could match his skills and fight him on the same level. And now that Itachi had died, he had no motivation to improve himself anymore. But he was not someone who could sit down doing nothing and He did not have any particular things he liked to do either. Thus he was going to train nevertheless.

He slipped out of his sleeping attire and changed into a clean pair of simple high collared, long sleeved shirt with an Uchiha symbol on the back, and a matching three quarter black pants. He tied a shuriken holder on his left thigh, and grabbed his favourite katana, the Sword of Kusanagi before he went out from his house, the old house he once lived happily with his family.

One year ago, after the Fourth Shinobi War, Naruto had challenged him again for a fight. He thought he might as well settle their dispute once and for all and agreed, which ended up in a draw. Finally he had gave in to Naruto's persistence and returned back to Konoha. Tsunade, which was the Hokage had removed the seal on the Uchiha compound and declared the whole compound as rightfully his, and out of sudden he was one of the richest man in Konoha for the unexpected inheritance. Since then he had continue living in his old house despite the emotional trauma the place had given him. Initially, he was also put on constant monitoring for half a year. Everyday an ANBU would guard outside his house, and he was only allowed to leave the village if he was given a mission.

It was unnerving at first, to be in constant surveillance 24 hour every day. Thankfully his former team mates, Naruto Uzumaki and Sakura Haruno had always tried their best to make him feel comfortable living in the village. Naruto would often make a surprise visit to his house and drags him outside to train or eat Ramen. And Sakura would always invites him to hang around when he does not has a mission. Sometimes even Kakashi would come by and dropped a pile of his Icha Icha Paradise for him to read during his break, much to his dismay. Little by little their nosiness made him forgot about the presence of the ANBU following him.

Sakura had also confessed to him again one year ago when he returned. Once again he had rejected her. Although she was special to him, but he was sure he did not feel the same way she did, and he just cannot see her as more than a friend. Sakura understood, and through tears she had replied that she wished they could remained as friends, and they have been that way ever since.

So for a year now Sasuke had remained single, despite constantly being in centre of attraction by the village girls. He could not find anyone that could make him feel that he wants to live and grow old together with her yet. Sometime he even thinks that he would grow and die as a lonely old man. If that happens, then people would only hear about Sharingan in history book. He was not too fond of the idea though.

Focussing his chakra at the sole of his feet, Sasuke kicked off the ground and leaped on the branch of a nearby tree. He thought he would reached the training ground faster if he avoid walking on the ground. He can could also avoid the piercing stares of the villages who have not really forgotten his previous status as a missing-nin. The world is not exactly forgiving. Although he doubt anyone had already wake up at this time of the day. Probably a few, but he would not taking chances.

Within minutes, the training ground spread into view. It was still dark thus he did not expect someone to be there before him.

A young woman probably around his age with long indigo hair tied in a ponytail was standing with her back towards him, facing the stumps he vividly remembered where he first started training with squad 7 after he graduated from the academy. How time flies, was it about 5 years already? The place still looked the same. He was not sure who she was because he was unable to see her face, but she seemed so familiar. Was she in the same class as him? He could not remember. The only clue on her identity for now was the Hyuga Insignia on the sleeve of her purple jacket, indicating that she was a Hyuga, a noble clan in Konoha with a dojutsu like him. But he remembered vaguely that Hyuga was the exact opposite of Uchiha. Instead of having black eyes like him, they have white coloured eyes. He was not sure about the other details though because he never seen any of them except quite recently after he returned.

Sasuke stopped on one of the branches about 50 metres from her. He hates sharing, thus he thought he would just wait until she finished her training, then he could start training on his own. So he sat and leaned comfortably against the trunk, with both his hands behind his head. Without realizing it, his gaze drifted absently towards the young woman on the ground below.

Her hands was glowing with a bluish chakra, and instead of the usual way people fights with their fists, the woman used palm thrust and her fingers. Curious, Sasuke leaned forward to have a better look.

Sometimes she would thrust her palm from far away and sent an air force which knocked the stump backwards, other time she would use her index and middle finger and hit the stump, sending her bluish chakra through it. Then after she finished with the stump, she would stand in the open space and rotated 360 degrees while sending out her bluish chakra from her body. Sasuke stared in awed. He had never seen such techniques before. This was the first time he saw a Hyuga fights despite growing up in Konoha. In the past he remembered a male Hyuga who was also around his age that he was excited to spar with, but he never got the chances to because of many circumstances. He frowned and crossed his arms. Did all Hyuga had techniques such as these? How strong would they be?

Sasuke was so deep in thoughts that he was surprised when suddenly the woman shouted ''Byakugan!'' and gasped. His heart skipped a beat when the woman slowly turned towards him and looked exactly at where he was sitting since about half an hour ago, her eyes wide. ''How was she able to find me?'' He thought.

Confused white pearls stared at nervous black orbs. Sasuke took this opportunity to study her face which had aroused his curiosity for a while now. She had a fair complexion like she had not seen much sun in her life. Her hair was indigo, straight and long which she tied in a high ponytail with some of the shorter strands framed her heart shaped face. She had to admit she found her cute. Pretty even. And what caught his eyes the most were her eyes. They were Hyuga's pearl white eyes, the exact opposite of his black ones. He had seen many Hyugas before but her eyes mesmerised him for reasons he could not understand. Then he noticed the dilated veins surrounding her eyes and he gasped with understanding how she had found him.

Sasuke swallowed a bitter taste in his saliva. He felt like he was caught in the act of stalking even though he was not. Okay maybe he was looking out of curiosity but that was it. He stubbornly felt that he did not do anything wrong and he mentally prepared retorts just in case she accused him of stalking her.

To his surprise, the woman bowed, as low as her waist would allowed her.

''I'm sorry, Sasuke-kun!'' The woman said. Her voice sounded expectedly soft, just like how she looked. She had deactivated her Byakugan now. The veins had disappeared from her eyes.

''I didn't notice you were there. I'll leave now.''

She turned from him and grabbed her bag that was lying on the grass. Leaving Sasuke confused of the situation. How did she knew his name? Then again it was not surprising that she would know someone as infamous as him. but that was not important right now.

Before his mind registered what he was doing, his hand was already grabbing her wrist, shocking both himself and her. She turned and looked at her wrist that he held, then her gaze shifted upwards to his face in confusion.

''Umm Sasuke-kun? What are you doing?'' she asked.

Sasuke hastily dropped her wrist and pocketed his hand, another hand moved to run his fingers around his messy dark hair. His eyes wandered everywhere except her face even though he found it hard to ignore her scrutinizing gaze.

Giving up, Sasuke looked at her whilst trying his best to make sure that his expressions remained indifferent, which was not hard for someone who was trained to throw his emotion away in other to become an avenger. He already knew the reason why he stopped her. ''Stay.'' He commanded. Normal people would politely ask for a favour but not Sasuke Uchiha. He was too prideful to ask.

The young woman furrowed her eyebrows looking more confused. Wrinkles appeared on her pretty face which annoyed the Uchiha. He found himself raising his voice without intending to.

''I'm asking you to stay. I need a partner to train.''

This time the young woman widen her eyes in shocked. Sasuke was amused to see so many different expressions in her face in the short time he saw her. She raised her hands and cupped her mouth. Then she raised both of her hands and waved frantically.

''Me? N-No, I couldn't possibly…'' she stuttered. Sasuke heart dropped. Because of his looks and intimidating aura, he had never had anyone saying 'no' to his face before, thus he was not prepared to be rejected, especially not by a woman. ''I mean you are one of the strongest Shinobi in this world, how could someone like me train with you?'' She continued.

Without warning Sasuke lifted his leg and aimed a kick towards her abdomen. As he expected, she reflexively guarded from his attack before it could reach her. Despite that the force from his kick sent her flying backwards and slammed her into a tree. She supported herself with her forearm and knees before she completely fell on the floor, protecting her face from the ground.

Sasuke dropped his leg on the ground and crossed his arms. The woman put one hand on her knee and the other on the ground and raised her head to glare at him angrily.

''You!'' She pushed herself up. Her tone expressed her displeasure at being attack suddenly without explanation. She pointed an index finger to him. ''What was that for?''

'Sasuke shrugged and smirked. ''To prove my point.''

The woman raised her eyebrows in confusion. Sasuke was really enjoying himself now. Apart from her jacket that was became dirty after she fell and his sandal print on her sleeve, she appeared to be uninjured, which was what he expected.

''You are able to defend against my attack, doesn't that make you a suitable partner for me?'' He continued. Then he realized his mistake in wording. ''I mean, suitable training partner.'' He corrected. Somehow he felt that his cheeks grew warmer now which he hoped it was not noticeable.

The woman stare at him in disbelief. She opened up her mouth as if to argue, but no words coming out from her. Then she closed her mouth and smiled, shocking and mesmerising him at the same time. Cupping her hands over her mouth, she laughed. Her shoulders shook as she burst into an uncontrollable laughter, leaving Sasuke confused with her behaviour this time. Did she knocked her head to the tree just now? He wondered worriedly.

He was about to walk closer to check whether she got a concussion when she stopped laughing. Wiping her tears away, she activated her Byakugan and again the veins appeared around her eyes. She then spread her legs and assumed a fighting stance, one hand raised in front of her while the other bended behind, palm thrusted forward. She looked at him with a confident smile. ''Then please make sure you don't lower your guard, Sasuke-kun!''

Sasuke snorted as he too, assumed his fighting position. He was pleased that he finally had a chance to fight a Hyuga. Though there was a nagging thoughts at the back of his mind that convinced him that was not the only reasons for his sudden elated mood. Whatever. He dismissed his thoughts and focused his attention to the woman in front of him now. He was sure he would regret it if he lowered his guard in front of her. Then he remembered something that had been nagging him for a while now.

''Hey. What's your name?'' He asked.

''Hinata. Hinata Hyuga.'' The woman replied with a smile.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer : I don't own Naruto, or else Sasuke and Hinata would end up together by now.

XXX

Sasuke Uchiha turned on the tap and sighed as the hot water that came gushing out from the shower head came into contact with his skin, providing temporary relief for his sore muscles and joints. He then reached out blindly for a bar of soap on top of the sink, using it to scrub clean the dirt and sweat from his body. That's when he noticed the previously forgotten marks on his forearms.

Turning off the tap, he slowly walked over to the lone mirror in his bathroom, or more accurately the only mirror in his entire mansion. He had been living in a cave-turned-hideout of Orochimaru for years, which conveniently didn't have mirror installed in it. He always wondered how both Orochimaru and Kabuto kept their long hair neat, but kept a cool pretense that he didn't care. One year of coming back to Konoha still couldn't change his way of living, and he never really use the mirror, which is why his hair is always in a mess.

Staring properly at his reflection for the first time in a while, what greeted him was a young man with dark messy hair, dripping wet from just having a shower. His bangs had gotten long, almost obscuring his equally dark eyes from view. His face, which had grown sharper as he grew older, had a small cut on the left cheek. He dropped his gaze downwards to his torso, to his flat abdomen, which is covered with muscles, proof of his years of merciless training. Finally he raised both of his arms, which boasted muscles despite not being a proficient Taijutsu user. He saw his arms were now covered with multiple circular reddish marks, which looked like insects bites. The marks spread out throughout his upper limbs, from his hands up to his shoulders, on the front and the back – covering all his chakra points in the upper limbs.

He brought his two hands together, forming hand seals to form his fire style jutsu and blew, but not even a puff of smoke appear from his mouth.

''My chakra still haven't return yet.'' He mumbled in annoyance. Immediately an image of blue haired woman with lavender white eyes vividly formed in his mind and he could not help the smirk that formed on his face.

XXX

Sasuke leaped off the grass and jumped backwards, narrowly missing a delicate hand that lunged towards him. Instead of stopping there, his opponent reached out to attack him with her other hand, which he blocked easily with his forearm. He retaliated by grabbing her wrist before she could pull away, and fling her hard to the ground, and watched in satisfaction as she fell hard on her back. He applauded silently in his mind when he saw her tried to get back up immediately when normal people would have been briefly immobilize with pain. Before she could get back to her feet he pushed her back down and held both of her wrists on each side of her head, effectively pinning and restricted her movements.

He was leaning over her on all four, and their proximity allow Sasuke to feel the soft materials of her jacket over his thin shirt, and to smell the fragrant of her shampoo and soap that she used, the smell of lavender. He could also feel her ample breasts pressing on his chest, or he was pressing on them, or both, which he tried desperately to ignore and tried to occupy his mind with the thought of learning her jutsu, the main reason they were in this situation. The woman below him wriggled to free herself from his iron grip but that only made him tighten his grip on her.

''Is that the best you can do?'' he asked as he briefly scrutinized her face, her eyes that were so foreign, so contrast and the exact opposite of his own dark orbs that he used to see whenever he sees his reflection, and the prominent dilated veins around her eyes that adorned her beautiful face, her Byakugan - still activated. To his surprise he saw the fire in those white orbs burned brightly with determination, despite the hopelessness in her situation. He couldn't understand why. Their training was over as soon as it began. He doesn't even need to activate his Sharingan. But why did her eyes looked like she still thought of her possibility to win?

He had asked her to train with him on a whim. When he first saw her, he watched in fascination as she used her gentle fist jutsu, the specialty of the Hyuuga Clan, which was foreign to him. She had refused him initially, as she brought on their difference in skill level. But Sasuke had been persistent and even go as far as kicking her without warning, to boost her confidence, to proof his point. He thought there was more to her than meets the eye. Perhaps he had overestimated her and had been wrong?

Confused and distracted, he owed it to his years of training that he managed to duck his head sideways as he felt a sudden force of air aimed towards his face. Yet the stinging sensation that he felt on his cheek indicated that albeit not fully, the attack was still able to graze his cheek. He stared, eyes wide at her triumphant look, and he immediately understood that the air force was sent by her, although he did not understand how. Shock rather than pain made him loosened his grip on her wrist.

She used the opportunity to wriggle loose from his grasp and immediately aimed two chakra covered fingers towards his chest – the location of his heart before Sasuke could comprehend what happened. It was too late for him to avoid it, so he crossed both his forearms in front of his chest to guard against her attack, to reduce the impact. However, she seemed to be expecting his action as she continued to thrust her fingers onto his forearms. As her fingers came into contact on his skin, he felt like a jolt of electricity went through him, then he could not feel his chakra flowing through him anymore.

Bewildered, Sasuke raised his arms and gaze upon the tiny reddish marks that suddenly appeared and spread all over his previously pale forearm. As soon as he recovered from his shock, Sasuke flipped backwards, a distance away from her, and eyed her warily. He watched indignantly as she slowly rose to her feet, dusted the dirt off her pants, and assumed her fighting position again.

''Now you won't be able to use your Ninjutsu and Genjutsu anymore. You shouldn't let your guard down Sasuke-kun.'' She said as her mouth curved into a smile. Sasuke noted there wasn't any mockery nor malice within her smile, she was just pleased with herself, having just disabled one of the strongest Shinobi in the world.

His irritation disappeared and was replaced with amusement. He smirked as he tried to activate his kekkei genkai, and failed, as he expected. Although she only blocked his chakra points at his upper limbs, all chakra points were interconnected. It made sense that he wasn't able to activate his Sharingan, because it require chakra. Despite that, he noticed that he could still moves his hands as usual, the way he wants, which means that her jutsu had no effect on his nervous system. Thus he could only rely on Taijutsu now for the rest of the spar.

Assuming his own fighting stance, his mood was more elated than ever. Looks like he did not made a mistake in asking her to train with him after all. But he won't make the same mistake twice.

''My bad, But you won't get another chance, Hinata.''

He vaguely remembered talking to her, despite knowing her existence ever since they were little. He had never tried to talk to her, or get to know her name, as he got his mind full with Itachi. In fact he just knew her name a few hours ago, when he first saw her this morning. How two people who barely knew each other few hours ago suddenly ended up in a little friendly spar was beyond him, but he had to admit, he enjoyed the moment.

Instead of replying him, Hinata just smiled, as the bright morning sun shone its radiant light upon her. And Sasuke couldn't help thinking how her smile reminded him of sunshine, bright and warm.

''Hinata Hyuuga huh? The name really suits her.'' He muttered silently.

XXX

A loud pounding of the front door of his mansion brought Sasuke back to the present. Cursing slightly under his breath, he grabbed a clean towel and wrapped it securely around his waist, before proceeding to open his front door. He already had a pretty good idea on who might his visitor be.

''Yo!''

He opened his door to reveal a grinning Naruto Uzumaki, who greeted him in a guilt-free manner despite just having disturbed his bath, and his reminiscence. Naruto's grin soon faded to a frown when he saw a half-naked Sasuke. Water droplets glistened and dripped from his body as he stepped out from his house and got illuminated by the bright afternoon sun. ''Am I interrupting your bath?'' he asked.

Sasuke rolled his eyes and leaned at his doorframe, arms crossed as he glared at Naruto as much as his Sharingan-less eyes would let him. He decided to leave Naruto's question unanswered, as the answer was already obvious just from looking. Instead,

''Are you trying to break my front door?'' he asked in annoyance.

''Well, if I wanted to I'll just use Rasengan on your door!'' Naruto answered with a smug grin without a hint of remorse. How Sasuke wished he could use his Sharingan now so that he could burn his smug grin away with Amaterasu, and his dazzlingly bright orange sweatshirt while he at it.

Sasuke sighed as he ran a hand through his messy hair, if only he was not so careless, Naruto would be charred by now. ''So, why are you here?'' He decided to get straight to the point, so that he could get rid of Naruto faster, and focus his energy to retrieve his chakra back. Or maybe he could just look for Hinata and ask her to restore back his chakra point. He decided he prefer the latter options.

Naruto responded by putting an arm around his shoulder, an overfamiliar act that he hated, but he decided to let it slide. ''What else? To bring you to lunch of course! I even invited Sakura-chan!''

Sasuke's head immediately involuntarily formed an image of Ichiraku Ramen in his mind. He stifled a groan. It wasn't that hated ramen, but in the past weeks that he and Naruto was in a mission together, Naruto had pulled him to ramen places every time they stopped by a village, and if they had to camp out, Naruto would force him to eat cup ramen. As a result, just thinking about ramen now made him nauseous.

''No thank you, I'm not hungry.'' Sasuke said. He straightened himself and tried to return inside, but Naruto had grabbed his arm before he could do so.

''Aww come on…'' Naruto whined. Then he froze when he noticed the marks on Sasuke's arm. He stared at the marks for a few seconds before turned his gaze to Sasuke, his cerulean blue orbs wide.

''Sasuke.. you.. that mark.. Don't tell me you fought a Hyuga?'' Naruto asked, a clearly displeased look on his face. The mark was very familiar to him, he had first saw Neji used Jyuken for the first time on Hinata during Chuunin exam. And because of that he was also aware that the jutsu is only unique to Hyuga Clan. For Sasuke to have the exact same marks could only means that he fought a Hyuga Clan member. Did he get into trouble with them? With Sasuke's temper, Naruto thought that it was very likely.

Sasuke shoved Naruto's hand away. ''That's none of your business.'' He replied coldly. There is no way he would let Naruto know that his chakra points were blocked because had a spar with a Hyuga woman, underestimated her and was caught off guard. Naruto would definitely tease him about it, and his pride wouldn't allow that. Despite Naruto being the only person he could trust in the world now, there are still things that he prefer to keep to himself.

''But it is!'' Naruto shouted suddenly, startling Sasuke. For a moment unnerving silent passed between them, and Sasuke saw Naruto's face tightened into a pained expression. Sasuke waited patiently for him to continue. He was unsure on how to deal with this kind of situation. He was used to the jovial, stupid and happy-go-lucky Naruto, so a pained and serious Naruto was as much as a stranger to him. Although he did remembered Naruto behaving this way when he left the village four years ago, but it was different then. He didn't care much on how Naruto felt at that time, revenge was the only thing in his mind, and he was willing to hurt those important to him to achieve that goal. But this time he was different, as much as he didn't want to admit, he cares about Naruto, and seeing him in a pain brought pain to him as well.

Naruto lowered his gaze to the ground. His fist clenched tightly, his teeth gritted. ''One year ago when I was about to be killed by Pain, Hinata saved me, and got herself fatally injured in the process. I was really glad she survived but Neji..'' Naruto paused. Then after a moment of painful silence his shoulders shook, and Sasuke silently gasped as he saw tears trailed down his whiskered cheeks, soaking his front collar. Naruto had started to cry.

Naruto wiped his tears with his orange sleeves before he continued. ''During the Fourth Ninja War Hiashi-san, Hinata and Neji all risked their life to protect me from jyuubi, and when I was about to be impaled by jyuubi's wood projectiles, Hinata used her body to shield me from the attack, but Neji saved us in exchange for his life.'' He raised his head to look at Sasuke, his face twisted into a sad smile.

''I was ready to give up if not for Hinata.'' He raised his hand to touch his right cheek. ''She slapped some sense into me, and her words and her presence gave me strength to keep going. I was able to stand here now and become the hero everyone thought I am because of them.''

''That's why Sasuke,'' Naruto's cerulean eyes turned cold, his tone icy, surprising Sasuke, who never thought Naruto capable of such look. ''Even if it's you, I won't let you go if you mess with them.'' Naruro warned.

For a moment they exchanged a quiet stare, before Sasuke quietly turned to re-enter his house. He stopped for a moment to look over his at Naruto, who stood immobile with the same determined look. ''I'll keep that in mind.'' He said, and slammed the door to Naruto's face.

Inside, Sasuke leaned against his doorframe, staring emptily on the floor, shocked by the sudden revelation of the bond between Naruto and Hinata that he didn't know, He wasn't sure if Naruto had already left, and he didn't care, as he raised his hand to his chest, where his heart is beating steadily, and the unfamiliar pain that wasn't there before.

XXX

Author's note : Initially I wrote this for fun, to see what kind of comment I could get for my first time writing. Even though I couldn't get much review, I had fun writing the first chapter and I was satisfied. But since the three persons who were kind enough to give me their reviews asked for continuation, it gives me strength to continue this story, and thus I tried spent some sleepless nights to think of the plot. Lol hope the three of you enjoy this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing this.

Oh and sorry for my bad grammars, I'm always bad with the tenses, but I'm trying to learn, so please bear with me. 


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer : Naruto did not belong to me.

Kakashi Hatake was not one who doubts his decision. No. Because being indecisive could cost you greatly and leaves you with regrets for the rest of your life. And ever since he succeeded Tsunade as the Sixth Hokage, he knew his decisions weight a tonne. For instance, choosing the wrong person for a mission would be fatal if the person was incapable. But it was also wrong and disrespectful to doubt your fellow ninja capabilities, thus once he decided to assign a person for a mission, he would never look back and believes from the bottom of his heart that the person would carry out the mission safely and make the village proud.

Yet, why was he wavering now?

Perhaps because he would be a fool to not sense the hostility that emanated from the two people he intended to assign this mission for.

Naruto Uzumaki and Uchiha Sasuke, his two former students and also the recipients for the mission he had in mind, were currently glaring at each other. Any minute now it would probably escalate to strangling each other, or Rasengan-Chidori each other, if there was such term. Unconsciously Kakashi had started fumbling idly with the scroll he had in hand, unsure whether it was save to interrupt. One wrong word and another Great Ninja War would erupt.

His internal struggle was saved when Sasuke spoke first. ''Oi, Kakashi. How long do you intend to keep quiet? If you summoned me and this idiot here so that the three of us could reminisce the good old time then screw it. I'm not interested.''

Kakashi took the opportunity appreciatively. His gaze darted between Naruto and Sasuke before clearing his throat a few time. ''Ahem. There is a mission I want to assign to you both,'' He then turned towards Sasuke, ''though your idea was great as well, but we will save them for some other time.'' He said with a wink.

Sasuke rolled his eyes.

''Absolutely not, Kakashi-sensei!'' It was Naruto, who had slammed his hands on his desk, scattering the unfinished paperworks all over the floor. Kakashi cursed under his breath for the extra overtime he needed to spend tonight. ''I absolutely refuse to work together with him.'' He complained, pointing an index finger at Sasuke.

''Hmph! Likewise. I don't need a loser to hinder my work. I alone would be more than enough for this mission.'' Sasuke retorted, slapping Naruto's finger away from his face.

''What did you say?!''

''Oh didn't you hear me? I said a loser like you will only get in my way.''

''You bastard!'' Naruto had grabbed on Sasuke's collar, his fist clenched few centimetres away from Sasuke's face. The latter however was not intimidated slightly, he just stared at him coldly, though his dark eyes had flickered slowly to red.

''Ma..Ma.. Calm down you two.'' Kakashi raised both of his hands nervously. Sigh. Even after so many many years, some things would never change. That included their usual bickering and mocking each other.

''Well anyway,'' he continued. ''I can't change your partner. As you know we suffered great casualties during the last war. Most of the other Jounin level ninjas were already despatched for other missions. Currently we do not have enough manpower to attempt a S-class mission.''

''Then just send him or me alone for the mission. There's no need for both of us to go.'' Naruto stubbornly argued. Despite not saying anything, Sasuke silently agreed.

''There is a clear line between confidence and overconfidence, failure to differentiate both would cost you your life. Enough!'' Kakashi raised his hand when Naruto opened his mouth for another argument. ''I have already decided. Say anything more and I will consider it as going against Hokage's order.'' Kakashi said in a tone that dictated authority, leaving no no room for arguments. For a moment there was heavy silence in the Hokage office. Then from beneath his mask Kakashi seemed to be smiling, despite the heavy tension. ''Don't worry, it won't send just you two, there will be another person joining you both in a three-man-team.''

Naruto's face brighten up instantly, his face broke into a goofy grin. ''Sakura-chan will be joining us? So the old Team Seven will work together again?''

''Sai would be sad if he hear that.'' Kakashi said wearily, though he was smiling despite himself.

Sasuke rolled his eyes. He didn't care whether he would reunite with his former team mates or not. Unlike Naruto he already used to live in solitude this past seven years. He hold no attachment to anyone whatsoever, not even his former team mates.

As if on cue, suddenly there was a knocking sound on the door, turning all three heads towards it. Naruto was the first to respond. He dashed towards the door without first waiting for Kakashi's reply. His head fully anticipated the arrival of his long term pink haired crush.

''Sakura-chan!'' Naruto exclaimed happily as he shoved the door open – and heard a high pitched yelp as he felt the door slammed into something, or rather someone. His grin faded when, instead of the pink haired beauty, a young woman with long dark purple hair was crouching on the ground while holding her nose. A few drops of blood dripped on the floor through the gap between her fingers.

It took a few seconds for Naruto to snap back into reality. He instantly knelt to her level, bringing his face closed to her. ''Oh my God Hinata I'm so sorry! Are you okay?'' He asked worriedly as he tried to gently pry her hand away from her nose to check on her injury, but Hinata flinched as soon as he touched her, backing away from him.

''Naruto-kun?'' Hinata asked dazedly. Her pearly white eyes glistened with tears that threatened to fall any time now. ''Don't worry I'm okay. It's just a minor injury. It was my fault for not paying attention to my surroundings.'' She tried to reassure him by standing up hurriedly, to prove that she was okay, but the impact of the hit caused a sudden wave of dizziness to hit her. She staggered forwards and almost fell, if not for the strong muscular arms that suddenly wrapped around her shoulders, steadying her. Her eyes met with a pair of dark ones. ''Sasuke-kun?'' She exclaimed in shock at her unexpected saviour.

''Be careful.'' Sasuke's tone appeared commanding, but a sharp silver haired ninja could detect a hint of concern in his voice. Hinata just nodded appreciatively.

Naruto, who was already pissed at Sasuke even before Hinata arrived, felt his anger risen when he saw Sasuke holding Hinata intimately. He grabbed Hinata's wrist and pulled her towards him, confusing the poor girl with his action. He turned towards Kakashi, who was currently watching the drama unfolded with much amusement. ''I don't think she is fine, I'm taking her to Sakura-chan just in case. Sorry Kakashi Sensei. We will talk about the mission later.'' He said before turning on his heel towards the door, dragging Hinata in tow.

''Wait, N-Naruto-kun! I need to talk to Rokudaime-sama. Wait, don't pull me..I'm okay, really.'' Hinata protested but Naruto ignored her. They both disappeared through the hall, with Hinata's voice getting further and further away. Finally, only a stunned black haired teen and a very amused silver haired man remained in the Hokage Office.

''Well.. I suppose we should continue this another time then?'' Kakashi broke the awkward silence after a while. ''You might wanna check on her.'' He continued, scratching his cheek with a finger.

Sasuke gave a snort and turned wordlessly to leave with his hands in his pockets. Kakashi watched his back until the door closed behind him, leaving him alone in his office with his thoughts. He crossed his arms behind his head, leaning comfortably in his chair, eyes staring at the ceiling. Good grief. Some things never change. Even after seven years had passed, they still fight over a woman's affection. Only this time, the woman was infatuated with Naruto instead. Kakashi snickered on how the tables had turned.

Kakashi stood up from his seat, leaning against the window with his arms crossed. From there he could see the village men busy repairing the damage the ten tails caused during the last war, the women busy preparing food for them, and children busy taking care of their younger siblings. Everyone busied themselves for something to do, in order to return the village to how it was once. There was no time to mourn for their lost. Kakashi mentally swore he would protect them, and the village they live in, as the Hokage.

''But it seemed like both of them haven't realize it yet. I hope nothing goes wrong during the mission.'' He thought grimly.

A/N : In my story, the battle at the Valley of the End did not happen, because I want them to have two hands. And Sasuke did not have rinnegan, because I did not follow how he ended up obtaining it. Too much filler made me lost and I'm too lazy to watch again.

Again, sorry for my grammars. If any of my reader would like to beta my story next time, it will be much appreciated.


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